


Zen, Interrupted

by MissJewelry373



Series: Probably Never Going To Be Finished [4]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Season 3 AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-15 14:07:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12322512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissJewelry373/pseuds/MissJewelry373
Summary: Shane survives the confrontation with Rick and makes it off the farm alive, finally ready to accept that Lori wants nothing to do with him. He still wants to have someone by his side, though, and with Andrea gone, he decides to move in on Carol. It takes a while, but they warm up to each other and the two become fairly close. Until Daryl takes notice, that is. Caryl with slight Sharol beginnings.





	Zen, Interrupted

**Author's Note:**

> I was rewatching TWD a while back (I mean a WHILE back), and I couldn't help but notice the way Shane held Carol's hands when he was washing them off, you know after Sophia died and he was apologizing? Well anyway, I kinda ship them now (but only very, very lightly) and I think that if Shane did make it off the farm with Rick and the others, he might very well try to move in on Carol. But I really don't see that ever truly happening as long as Daryl's around, soooo I came up with this thing...yeah.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.

Daryl grunted as he pitched his tent, using the group's only spare hammer to pound the last of the stakes into the ground and secure his place for the night.

It was their first day at the prison, and while he had no qualms about 'staying close' to the others anymore, he still preferred his space. He was further away from the campfire than the rest of the group, but he could still feel the heat that the fire provided. And that was close enough for him.

A faraway laugh pricked at his ears, and Daryl momentarily shifted his attention away from the stake to focus on Carol smiling with Shane a ways off from the campfire.

 _Shane_.

He didn't like him. Not that the guy had ever done wrong by him or anything, but ever since his 'big confrontation' with Rick at the farm all those months back, he never really trusted him enough to be kept in the group. It was Rick's call, though, not his, and so he kept his mouth shut and stayed to himself. Rick kept them all safe, Carl still got into trouble, and he still had his space. Everything was more or less normal.

“Hahaha!”

Except for _that_.

Daryl clenched his jaw and exhaled long and slow through his nose, curling his lip into an irritated snarl as Carol's laugh once again entered his ears.

Over the past few months, Carol and Shane had gotten...close. Apparently the ex-cop finally got the hint that Lori wanted nothing to do with him (big surprise there) and as a result, decided to gravitate towards Carol. At first he thought nothing of it - after all, Shane was in charge of firearms training and Carol needed it the most, so it wasn't too out of place to see them with each other - but when he started seeing the two of them together _outside_ the shooting range, he began to pick up on things.

It had started out as advice on how to better use her weapon, plain and simple. But then they started having _conversations_ , which led to jokes and long walks and sitting together at dinner. Eating the food that _he_ had been kind enough to kill for them.

It shouldn't have bothered him as much as it did – after all, Carol had come to _him_ first to be taught how to survive, and he had blatantly declined, too annoyed at the thought of having to look after her more than he already was to take her seriously – but the fact remained, it bugged him.

“Yo, Daryl!”

A lot.

Daryl bowed his head and bit his lip, making a half-hearted attempt to clear any annoyance he felt from his throat before replying to the ex-cop.

“Yeah?”

“We're goin' on a walk. Keep an eye on things for us, okay?”

Shane gestured over to Carol, who stood a few feet behind him, and Daryl inwardly scoffed as he took in her downward-cast eyes and blushing smile.

He scowled.

Damn woman. Who did she think she was kidding? It was obvious as hell that they were going off to screw around together, or whatever the hell it was they did these days. And yet she still had the nerve to act like some modest, innocent woman with even a _shred_ of decency? Pfft.

 _Man, screw you_ , he wanted to say. _I ain't no damn manservant_.

He clenched his jaw and said nothing in response, but they both knew by now that his silence was answer enough; of _course_ he'd look after the group. What else was he going to do at this hour?

Shane turned around and began walking with Carol, lightly taking her arm and leading her away towards the fences, giving him a backwards wave of appreciation.

Daryl glared holes into the backs of their heads as they walked further and further away, tearing his eyes away from the sight of them when Rick and Lori moved in front of the campfire and (thankfully) blocked his view.

Rick looked between the three of them and gave him a weird look, like he knew that something was wrong and that it was somehow related to Carol, but said nothing as he sat down beside his wife and son to finish eating their dinner (rabbit that he'd caught earlier in the day) and settle in for the night.

Daryl took a deep breath, irritated with himself for being unable to keep from looking back over to the two 'lovebirds' when they walked past the barrier of the Sheriff's head. They were walking along the fence, mostly keeping quiet save for the occasional laugh Carol gave out, and his insides clenched in disgust as she trailed her hand along the fencing and smiled over at Shane like a lovestruck schoolgirl.

 _Ugh_.

Something about the two of them together, even the _idea_ of the two of them together, didn't sit right with him. He liked Carol, and after what had happened to Sophia she deserved to be happy, but he didn't think that happiness lied in Shane. Hell, _least_ of all in Shane; the guy was a psychopath who had slept with his best friend's wife and left a man for dead without batting an eye. But he wouldn't say anything, because it wasn't his place. He respected Carol and therefore respected her choices, and so he wouldn't be the one to ruin whatever sliver of happiness she found in being around the cop. Even if said cop was a complete dick and total asshole.

Daryl pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled long and slow, trying to calm himself down and toss out the annoying topic of Carol and Shane from his mind so he could lay down and get some damn sleep for once.

Sighing, he gave up and crawled inside his tent, laying down overtop his sleeping bag and staring up at the pointed canvas ceiling.

He paid attention to the sounds around him – the crickets in the grass, Maggie, Glenn, and Hershel's hushed conversation, Beth's light singing, the distant sound of walkers groaning – and allowed himself to relax.

He couldn't remember the last time he felt at ease the way he did now. It was pretty nice. No immediate danger, no life-threatening situations, no split-second decisions to make. This place might work out after all.

He closed his eyes and eventually slept, but it wasn't without much difficulty knowing that Carol was alone with Shane.


End file.
